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Far-right French politician at CPAC: US and France in 'another battle for freedom'

A far-right French politician addressed the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday outside Washington, saying that the United States and France are engaged in "another battle for freedom."

Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, one of the leading faces of France's hard-right National Front party, celebrated the ties between the two countries and their right-wing nationalist movements.

"I'm not offended when I hear President Donald Trump says 'America First.' I want America first for the American people, I want Britain first for the British people, and I want France first for the French people," she said.

Maréchal-Le Pen's appearance on the CPAC schedule had been met with criticism from some conservatives, who say National Front politicians' history of attacks on Muslims and downplaying the Holocaust has no place in U.S. conservatism.

The nationalist party has been accused of fomenting anti-immigrant sentiment. Maréchal-Le Pen's grandfather, Jean-Marie Le Pen, questioned the Holocaust and disparaged Muslims. More recently, Maréchal-Le Pen’s aunt, Marine Le Pen, came in second in the French presidential race as the National Front’s candidate.

Maréchal-Le Pen addressed the criticism in her speech.

“I hope you see me as less terrifying than the American media depicts me. It's crazy — yesterday I was a fascist, today I was a socialist. OK, why not?" she said.